Hey D.C.: If You Get Your Vaccination, Chef José Andrés Will Give You A $50 Gift Card To His Restaurants

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By  Dennis Lee

As if there weren't more than enough reasons to get vaccinated already, Chef José Andrés is giving people yet another incentive: He's giving out big fat $50 gift cards to those who show proof of vaccination, reports DCist.

The giveaway, which started last Saturday, May 8, will run until 70% of the population is vaccinated, he said on Twitter.

The gift cards will be valid at all D.C. area ThinkFoodGroup restaurants, including Jaleo DC, Jaleo Crystal City, Oyamel, Zaytinya, and China Chilcano. They will be valid for 30 days after they're issued, and are for food only.

Andrés is known for his global humanitarian efforts, and he was nominated in 2018 for a Nobel Peace Prize. He founded World Central Kitchen, which feeds people affected by large-scale disasters like wildfires, earthquakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He also opened a relief kitchen in Washington, D.C., when government workers were furloughed due to the government shutdown in 2019.

I'd first heard of him on food television and I always liked seeing him make appearances on shows; his bigger-than-life personality and genuine excitement about food make him a pretty compelling character. He also recently made an appearance on the Netflix show, Waffles + Mochi, which is a lot of fun, not just for kids, but for big grown-ups alike (Mochi is adorable). So if you're in the D.C. area and you haven't gotten vaccinated yet (DCist reports that the vaccination rate is only 36% right now), this is a great reason to get your shot.

If any of you cash in on this, make sure you let me know how it was. Chicago's getting some ThinkFoodGroup restaurants in the near future, so it'll be exciting to see his stuff pop up here eventually. For now I'll have to live vicariously through you.

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